1992, after an injury to her hind leg, I bred Feli to a buckskin quarter horse stallion - Hesa Sugar Chex - and that's how I came to raise my precious filly Djinni-Fee. My vivid childhood dreams had returned and were stronger than ever, after I spend vacations in Montana and Wyoming in 1993 and 1994 at a cattle ranch and Crow Indian tipi camp - the time to leave had arrived - just where should I start looking for the hills with the pine trees? Somehow neither Montana nor Wyoming matched my dream landscape.
Through a newly met friend, who owned a travel agency in Munich at the time and offered vacation in a tipi camp in South Dakota, I received a first hint, no more than a first name and fax number - Jack. I was told that he was very nice and lived in the Black Hills, SD on a ranch. That's not too far from Montana to visit my friends there, I thought and asking won't hurt. The answer came almost immediately and positive - no problem, he wrote, he could always do with some help, only maybe if I could not send the faxes in the middle of the night, please - oops, I had been so excited about contacting this complete stranger, the 8 hour time difference hadn't even crossed my mind!
Now, all over sudden everything had to go fast, if I was to take my horse Djinni-Fee. The quarantine regulations are hard and it was very expensive to import a mare older than 2 years of age. After a whole boat load of organizational hurdles to cross, I got everything arranged - a super nice new home for Feli with Gabi Monteleone, after I had to buy her back almost last minute, from the first person I had placed her with. Feli was a real German barn horse, and not likely to adapt to life in nature. I organized papers for Djinni, a number brand and inspection - not at all easy for a cross bred horse - transportation to Frankfurt with the help of a friend and over to New York, quarantine station - everything ok, only I could not get her any further. Over and over I received the same answer: To South Dakota? We don't transport horses there more than once a year, there is nothing. Are you sure, that's where you want to go? I called Jack in my despair, we were exchanging faxes on an almost daily basis. No problem, he said again, let me know when you are coming and I'll just pick you up. I thought that was real nice of him. It was not before much later, that I realized how difficult it must have been for him to come all the way to NY to pick up a crazy stranger with a horse and at the same time getting everything arranged at home at the ranch. Some time later he told me, that he had a feeling, even without having met that I would stay. I had no idea, of course.
May 10th, 1995 was the magic day. We met for the first time in NY and after 3 days of endless driving we finally reached his Plenty Star Ranch in the middle of the night. It was in a pretty desperate condition and up to that day "cultural shock" had only been a meaningless word for me ....
The next morning he showed me the entire ranch - I was overwhelmed with the breathtaking landscape and beauty of this country, especially when I recognized it to be the tree covered mountains that I had seen over and over in my dreams - I knew right away, I was finally home!
Jack, by the way, he has Native American blood from his mother's side, and I married the same year and were since busy developing our horse camp and Spanish Mustang / Colonial Spanish Horse breeding project.
Over the last 13 years I learned a lot about raising horses and training with softness and understanding. I had and still have wonderful teachers and am ready to start passing some of that knowledge on to the next generation of horse crazy folks, as I continue to learn a lot more myself.
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Djinni had 5 foals and another one is on the way, due May 2009
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Now another time of change in my life has arrived - Jack and I will discontinue breeding and keep only a small group of our well broke to ride Colonial Spanish Horses for our groups from Germany and Natural Horsemanship week packages. I would like to spread the word about this incredible breed through hosting and teaching clinics (check out the Natural Horsemanship Week program and schedule).
And just recently the circle has closed when I gave a first 2-day clinic in Germany at Gabi's beautiful Pummerhof, her riding school in Schoenberg, the woman who loved and took care of my first horse Feli until she passed away in 2007.
Come and see us!
